Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) and Warner Music Group’s (NASDAQ: WMG) Arts Music division announced they are partnering with iHeartMedia(NASDAQ: IHRT) to launch Barbie Radio today exclusively on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service, and iHeartRadio Family, a stand-alone app featuring music, stories and radio stations perfect for kids.
Barbie Radio, the first branded radio channel from Mattel, is a 24-hour digital only iHeartRadio station that stars Barbie as the DJ playing songs from her extensive music catalog, including tracks from her latest album, Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams from the musical special of the same name now streaming on Netflix. DJ Barbie will also share stories with listeners that are designed to remind girls they can be anything.
“Barbie has been inspiring, empowering, and entertaining kids for over 60 years and we are always looking to reach fans in new ways. Leveraging Barbie’s music catalogue of hundreds of original songs is one way for us to do that. Partnering with iHeartMedia gives us the opportunity to engage fans and bring Barbie’s original music to more families than ever before,” said Andrea Carpenter, Senior Director, Content Distribution & Partnerships, Mattel.
“iHeartRadio is inviting kids and families to turn up the volume on even more hits from Barbie with the exciting launch of Barbie Radio,” said Kavi Halemane, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Digital Programming for iHeartRadio. “We are excited to team up with Mattel and Warner Music to bring Barbie and her favorite music to millions of iHeartRadio listeners across the U.S.”
As the #1 global toy property*, original girl empowerment brand and most diverse doll on the market, Barbie is recognized as a mission-led brand that kids love and parents trust. Barbie Radio is accessible 24/7 via iHeartRadio which is available across more than 250 device platforms including online, mobile devices, wearables, in-car, in-home, gaming consoles and more. Fans can visit iHeartRadio.com/Barbie to listen on the web or go toiHeartRadio.com/apps to download the iHeartRadio app on their favorite device and listen to Barbie Radio today anywhere they are. Parents can visit iHeartRadioFamily.com to find supported iHeartRadio Family devices.
Mattel is expanding Barbie’s musical repertoire with DJ Barbie on Barbie Radio after recently introducing Barbie Music Producer dolls, designed to introduce girls to an underrepresented career where women make up less than 3% of music producers and shine a light on the importance of women’s stake in the industry. Barbie joined forces with Grammy Award-nominated music producer, songwriter, singer and actress Ester Dean and Girls Make Beats – an organization dedicated to expanding the female presence of music producers, DJs and audio engineers – to inspire more girls to explore a future in music production.